San Francisco Rules Committee Meeting: May 1, 2023
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San Francisco Rules Committee Meeting - May 1, 2023
The Rules Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors convened on Monday, May 1, 2023, at 10:15 AM. Chaired by Supervisor Matt Dorsey, the committee addressed four agenda items. Key actions included continuing a Ethics Commission appointment hearing, advancing an ordinance to create a permit prioritization task force, approving the dissolution of the Youth, Young Adult, and Families Committee, and approving the use of the city seal on District 6 office jackets. All decisions were unanimous, with one member absent on the final vote.
Consent Calendar
- No consent calendar was presented.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Joe Kelly (small businessman): Expressed frustration with the city's inefficiency, particularly regarding the permit process and the continuation of the Ethics Commission appointment. He stated the process is "not serving the public's interest."
- David Pelpel (public commenter): Supported the use of the city seal on Supervisor Dorsey's office jackets, suggesting it would positively increase visibility of city officials in communities like the Tenderloin. He proposed two amendments: replacing "termination" with "separation" and changing the end date from election-related to the end of the term (January 8, 2027).
- In-person speaker (name not captured): Expressed strong support for the city seal item, sharing personal pride in wearing a city uniform and urging the committee to pass the item with a positive recommendation.
Discussion Items
- Item 1 – Ethics Commission Appointment (Continued): Chair Dorsey apologized for a version control error that agendized the item contrary to his commitments. He emphasized the importance of the Ethics Commission and the need for a thorough, participatory process. The committee voted to continue the item to May 8, 2023, without objection.
- Item 2 – Permit Prioritization Task Force: Supervisor Safai presented the ordinance, explaining its origin from Home SF program projects facing inconsistent prioritization across departments. He highlighted that DPW had not updated priority processing since 2014, and emphasized the need for a data-driven, transparent, and corruption-resistant approach. Amendments were adopted to clarify that the task force's list is advisory only, and the task force has a sunset date. The ordinance was approved with a positive recommendation.
- Item 3 – Dissolving Youth, Young Adult, and Families Committee: Supervisor Ronan's remarks were read, affirming that dissolving the committee would not deprioritize youth issues. Chair Dorsey and Supervisor Safai expressed appreciation for the committee's work, with Safai citing Prop G and the Student Success Fund as lasting outcomes. The motion to approve passed unanimously.
- Item 4 – Use of City Corporate Seal: Chair Dorsey requested approval for District 6 office jackets with the city seal, citing visibility at community events. Clerk of the Board, Angela Calvio, explained her role as custodian of the seal and raised considerations such as liability and proper handling of jackets upon staff separation. Public comment supported the use with amendments. The committee adopted amendments to change "termination" to "separation" and set the end date to January 8, 2027. The item was recommended as amended.
Key Outcomes
- Ethics Commission Appointment: Continued to May 8, 2023, by unanimous vote.
- Permit Prioritization Task Force: Ordinance amended and passed with positive recommendation to the full board (3-0).
- Dissolution of Youth Committee: Approved with positive recommendation (3-0).
- Corporate Seal Use: Approved with amendments (2-0, Supervisor Safai absent) and recommended to the full board as amended.
All votes were unanimous among present members, with no objections.
Meeting Transcript
This meeting will come to order. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Monday, May 1st, 2023 meeting of the Rules Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. I'm Supervisor Matt Dorsey, Chair of this committee, and I'm joined today by my colleagues, Vice Chair Shaman Walton and Committee Member Asha Safai. On behalf of my colleagues, I want to express our gratitude to our committee clerk, Mr. Victor Young. Thanks also to the team at SFGov TV for facilitating and broadcasting today's meeting, in particular our producer today, Jason Goldhammer. Mr. Clerk, do you have any announcements? Yes. The Board of Supervisors and its committee are now convening hybrid meetings that allow in-person attendance and public comment while still providing remote access and public comment via telephone. Public comment will be taken on each item on the agenda. Those attending in person will be allowed to speak first, and then we will take those who are waiting on the telephone line. The public comment call in number is streaming across the screen. When connected, you will hear the meeting discussions, but you'll be muted and in listening mode only. When your item of interest comes up and public comment is called, those joining us in person should line up to speak, and those on the telephone should dial star three to be added to the speaker line. If you are on the telephone, please remember to turn down your television and all listening devices you may be using. Alternatively, you may submit public comment in writing in either of the following ways. Email them to myself, the rules committee clerk at VICTOR dot Y O U N G at SFgov.org. You may also send your written comment via US mail to our office at City Hall when Dr. Carlton be good at place, room 244, San Francisco, California 94102. Finally, items acted upon today are expected to appear on the Board of Supervisors' agenda on May 9, 2023, unless otherwise stated. Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Could you please call item number one? Yes, item number one is a hearing to consider appointing one member, term ending February first, 2029 to the Ethics Commission. Great. Thank you, Mr. Clerk. And on item number one, I want to express my apologies for an oversight on my part that resulted in this item being agendized in error after I had made commitments to uh community members and one of the applicants that I intended to not call this item uh this week. The published agenda was actually a version control uh error on my part, Mia Kulpa. Um so I want to beg everyone's forgiveness, and I know some people did make plans, and I really do apologize for that. Um I don't know if it's too late. If I've been here long enough to call it a rookie mistake, but um anyway, I do apologize. Um, as viewers may know we had a couple of delays, and then there were um a couple of other uh 11th hour applicants. Uh cat I want to make sure that the F ethics Commission applicants have time to meet with colleagues, and I've also heard from some community members that they want also more time to be heard. Um while I know this um item has been continued a few times for a few different reasons. The ethics commission is a uniquely important body in the government of the city and county of San Francisco with unique powers in our city government, and I think it's important that we take time that is needed to make the best most thoughtful choice in the best most participatory process for all involved. So I want to move to continue this item. Um clerk, can we take uh public comment on the continuance? Uh would you like to consider continue to a date certain or to the call of the call chair? But it'll be it'll probably be next week. Okay, it'll be continued to uh our meeting next week. On the motion to continue, uh, we are taking public comment. Members of the public who wish to speak on this item and are joining us in person, should like to speak at this time. For those listening remotely, uh please press star three to enter the speaker line. For those already in the queue, please continue to wait until the system indicates you've been unmuted, and that'll be your queue to begin your comments. Uh, there's nobody in the room for public comment on this matter, and there's no callers in the queue on this matter. Great, thank you, Mr. Clerk. Public comment on the uh continuance on this item is now closed.
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